In a hurry? Scroll down to the bottom of the post in order watch a short video.

Under Promising – Over Delivering

One thing you learn quickly in this business is to avoid over promising. Any web design business that plans on lasting more than five minutes is well aware of the pitfalls associated with such practices. Still, there are many startups who do so. It tends to lead penny pinchers down a rabbit hole of despair when they discover that all of those ‘free’ things weren’t really free at all. Many times they never even existed. The grand bargains might have been wishful thinking on the part of the young startup, or just outright lies.

When you have a website created and cared for by MidState Design you can rest easy knowing that you are getting what you paid for, and then some. There are consistently more features built into each online presence than most site owners ever know. One of my goals this year is to show clients what they are getting so they can utilize these extras to their advantage.

Enter Advance Form Building

Subscribers of our celebrated WordPress Care Package are already well aware of the value. Not only does it offer regular updates, it also provides six hours of support time for clients to use as they wish. If there’s a better deal in the business I’ve yet to find it. Most charge many times what is being asked here and only provide a fraction of the services.

The benefits go much farther than simple website maintenance, however. They also include various premium functionality that would normally cost you quite a bit of money. One of the features available to subscribers is advanced drag and drop form building. Not only can it create custom contact forms (something I will post about at a later date), it can also create surveys and polls. How wonderful is that?

The best part? There is no extra charge so long as you continue your subscription.

This kind of functionality can cost a small fortune through online providers, yet you can make as many as you want without incurring any additional fees. It’s baked right in!

Don’t just take my word for it. Have a look for yourself at the kind of prices being charged for similar features.

You Can Create Surveys

There are so many ways you can use surveys to enhance your products, services, and knowledge thereof, that one could go on all day trying to list them all.

Here are just a few possible ways to use surveys to your benefit.

You would like to know what folks think of the quality of the product, or service.

If you’re an author, you could ask for opinions on your various books. Did they enjoy it? Did they find the main characters believable. How about the story line? Did they discover any typos or omissions?

How do people feel about the prices of the products or services you offer?

If you’re a blogger, you could ask what topics people would like to see more of, and/or less of.

Maybe you’re a band who just released an album and you would like feedback on it. This is a great way of getting that.

As you can see, when it comes to surveys you are only limited by your imagination.

Key Points About Creating Surveys

Know the goal of your survey. Focus on what you really wish to know.

If you are inviting people to fill out surveys, keep theminfrequent. Continually sending out surveys will irritate most people.

Consider adding surveys to an occasional post, or page instead of email them. This will help remove the feeling of obligation and may lead to more thorough results.

Keep your surveys as short as possible so you get better results. Very few people are going to sit and answer 5-10 minutes worth of questions. You want them to be willing to reach the finish line.

Keep in mind that filling out a survey uses up your guest’s valuable time. Consider offering a freebie or coupon for completing surveys when appropriate. An example: You don’t want to offer a reward for good reviews as that would be unethical however, you might want to offer something if you are just asking visitors their opinion on the best path forward for your product.

Make sure to say thank you to those who take the time to help you out. Remember, that is what they are doing.

You Can Create Polls

What's Your Favorite Social Network *

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

YouTube

Other

Comment

Working Poll Example

Creating polls is fun, informative, and easy for everyone involved. They take less time than a survey and do not require any information on the part of the visitor. Polls can enlighten you about where to focus your future efforts, can evoke discussion, and can even expose options you may not have known about through the “Other” field.

Beyond it being a great way to gather opinions, there is also an entertainment value. By adding a poll to your article it adds a dynamic element that can get your visitors engaged in the topic at hand. Polls can lead to triggering emotional responses that can also increase the number of comments you might receive.

The one drawback to adding a poll is that a person is currently able to vote more than once if they revisit the poll. This, of course, can affect the results. I have asked that this be addressed in future versions so that there is an option to allow only one vote per IP. While there are still ways around that, it does lead to clearer results. All of this said, unless you’re discussing a hot topic issue like politics or religion where a person might be emotionally inclined/invested to skew the vote tallies, most aren’t going to waste their time doing so.

Some Kind Words About MidState Design’s WordPress Care Package

Corey at MidState Design – Quality Websites is the guru who keeps the Multicultural Children's Book Day AND all my sites, running like a dream. I highly recommend his WordPress Care Package Extras Package!

Candace Simar Takes First Place In Walla Walla, WA.

Candace Simar was awarded first place in the LAURA Short Fiction Awards for her entry “Night Riding”. The award was accepted on her behalf by Krista Rolfzen Soukup on Blue Cottage Agency. This award is named in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder and sponsored by Women Writing the West.

Gail Jenner Releases New Book: “One-Room Schools and Schoolhouses in the Pioneer West”

Author and entrepreneur Gail Jenner, has released a new book via TwoDot publishing titled “One-Room Schools and Schoolhouses in the Pioneer West’. This book is described as “A fond recollection of the West’s one-room school houses, this book celebrates an American institution with stories of heroism and perseverance”, and contains archival images depicting what things were like during this time period.

Gail Jenner has well over a dozen books available for purchase on her website. Any (or all), would make great gifts this Christmas!

Connie Lounsbury Releases New Book Titled “Fatal Flaws”

Connie Lounsbury has released a new publication called “Fatal Flaws – Based on a True Story.” In this book, award winning author Connie Lounsbury “expertly weaves nonfiction and fiction together in a story that will have the reader weeping in both sorrow and joy.”

That’s not all! Connie has also announced a new scholarship for Christian Writers will be awarded in February of 2019. You can find out more about it via her article and get an application to add your name as a potential recipient.

Kat Martin has dozens of books available for purchase. Many are New York Times bestsellers. All of them would make fantastic gifts under the Christmas tree for those who love romance novels.

Congratulations, Connie! Thank you for all of the wonderful things you do, and write about.

Quinn Nystrom written about in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

National Diabetes advocate, speaker, and author Quinn Nystrom, is the subject of a wonderful article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Quinn has been working tirelessly to help get the costs of insulin lowered. She also promotes understanding diabetes, as well as fighting the stigmas associated with this disease.

]]>https://midstatedesign.com/client-news/clients-in-the-news-november-2018/feed/0Clients In The News – October 2018https://midstatedesign.com/client-news/clients-in-the-news-october-2018/
https://midstatedesign.com/client-news/clients-in-the-news-october-2018/#respondSun, 21 Oct 2018 16:42:32 +0000https://midstatedesign.com/?p=206854It's been a busy time for MidState Design and its wonderful clients. Truth is, they are some of the hardest working people in literary arts who deserve your support. The amount of time and effort they put into everything they do is extraordinary.

It’s been a busy time for MidState Design and its wonderful clients. Truth is, they are some of the hardest working people in literary arts. They deserve your support. The amount of time and effort they put into everything they do is extraordinary.

New Website for Milana Marsenich

Milana Marsenich lives in Northwest Montana near Flathead Lake at the base of the beautiful Mission Mountains. She is the author of two highly acclaimed books: “Copper Sky” and “The Swan Keeper.” Milana is a member of the Western Writers of America and a Spur Award Finalist who has been featured in USA Today.

Jim Jones Begins Mini-Tour

In late August, I was privileged to be able to announce Jim Jones’s new website had gone live. Since that day Jim has hit the ground running, utilizing his online presence to its full potential. Jim even does live performances on his Facebook page. These mini-concerts are both entertaining and informative.

Starting on Monday, October 22, 2018 Jim will be setting out on a mini-tour where he’ll be doing a number of performances throughout the great state of Texas. It’s a great chance to see him live!

Jim is a great guy. Make sure to check out his books and music. They would make fine Christmas gifts. He even has a special discount available to those who visit his website!

If you know anything about Kat, you know she consistently writes top quality books that always seem to find their way to the bestsellers list. I have little doubt that both of these new books will do the same.

Working with Kat Martin, like all of the other fine authors I am so privileged to assist, is an honor of the highest order. 🙂

I need an image!

Let’s face it, finding images online can be time consuming and expensive. Yet, you’ve written the *perfect* article and all it needs is some high quality photography to really set it apart.

So, what’s an author to do?

Fear not, we bring you good news! There are several image sites available online that offer up free high definition photos for you to use. While it might be hard for you to find them with random online searches, MidState Design has gone to the trouble of finding 5 Excellent Sources For Copyright Free Images & Stock Photographyfor you and putting them into one, short post. Cool beans, eh?

Okay guys, what’s the catch?

There is no catch to the websites we’ve chosen to share here. At the time of this article’s publication, you are totally free to use these images in your own projects, or for those of your clients. The only restriction that some have are that you cannot offer them or sell them as your own. That said, it is always wise to check the licensing terms of any website providing free, or premium images.

About Cupcake: “All photos here on www.cupcake.nilssonlee.se are licensed under the Creative Commons license CC0, which means that you are free to use the images without any costs. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking for permission.”

A very nice collection of images taken by Jonas Wimmerström (former Nilsson Lee) of Malmö, Sweden. Most of these images focus on outdoor shots, and food, but there are a few other kinds of pictures as well. As shown on the website, all of these images currently come with what Jonas calls a “Do what ever you want” license. And, should Cupcake leave you hungry for more? You might consider buying some of his premium images on Creative Market to say ‘thanks’.

About DesignerPics.com: All of these photographs are captured by Jeshu John. You can use them for your personal and commercial works absolutely free. They would really appreciate if you would give attribution, but it’s not a necessity.

DesignerPics.com has some very nice images in numerous categories available for free download. Current categories include Architecture, Business, Concepts, Food & drinks, Nature, People, Technology, Things, Uncategorised, and Wild life. You can view the F.A.Q. and licensing terms here.

About JESHOOTS: “JÉSHOOTS was created at 2014 by Jan Vasekin Prague, Czech Republic.” Jan says he wants to make the world better. That’s why he offers photos and mockups for free.

Well done, Jan. Thank you!

Jan has been kind enough to offer up a number of wonderful photos, in multiple categories, and make them free to download and use in various ways. While still extremely generous, there are a few more licensing restrictions than the others listed above, so please be sure tofamiliarize yourself with Jan’s licensing terms. You can also contact him with any questions you might have.

From the website (modified): “Moment (MMT) provides free CC0 photography for personal and commercial use on websites, projects, themes, apps, and more. Jeffrey launched MMT in 2014 to share his love of photography with the world. Over the years Jeffrey has taken countless photos and wanted to post some of those photos to use for free and give back to the online community. The content spans many categories, including nature, city scenes, workspaces, and macro photography. These photos can be freely downloaded, used, and redistributed for both personal and commercial purposes. MMT has been featured on Shopify and Canva.

]]>https://midstatedesign.com/articles/5-excellent-sources-for-copyright-free-images-stock-photography/feed/0Super Easy WordPress Embedshttps://midstatedesign.com/articles/super-easy-wordpress-embeds/
https://midstatedesign.com/articles/super-easy-wordpress-embeds/#respondSun, 23 Sep 2018 01:02:55 +0000https://midstatedesign.com/?p=206798You may not know this, but WordPress has the ability to easily embed many post types from over two dozen different websites. This post details how to do it!

You may not know this, but WordPress has the ability to easily embed many post types from over two dozen different websites. I’ve listed them below.

For the most part, the trick to embedding content from these websites, is to copy the URL and paste it into your post or page on its own line. Should you try to post it with other content on the same line the embed will not work.

Reverb Nation has its own way of handling embeds. You only need to find the embed code for the music you wish to embed and tick the box for ‘WordPress Compatible’. Then, copy that code and past it into your post or page.

MidState Design loves to work with authors. Many are members of Western Writers of America. This is one of the reasons I was thrilled to be contacted by Jim Jones. Jim is an author, songwriter, and musician. He has won many awards for his original works. Beyond his accomplishments, Jim Jones is genuinely nice man who is highly respected.

I knew this project would go well right from the start due to Jim’s sense of humor. Early on in the process I mentioned that I, too, am a former musician. Jim told me he wouldn’t hold that against me. 🙂

I am truly honored to be able to work with Mr. Jones in order to help improve his online identity. This was a project that was extremely interesting, fun, and fulfilling. Even researching Jim’s works was very enjoyable. So many of his performances spoke to me that I kept finding myself listening to his music while building his website.

]]>https://midstatedesign.com/articles/website-project-jim-jones-western/feed/0Website Projects : Author Tom Tatumhttps://midstatedesign.com/websites/website-projects-author-tom-tatum/
https://midstatedesign.com/websites/website-projects-author-tom-tatum/#respondThu, 23 Aug 2018 20:06:10 +0000https://midstatedesign.com/?p=206540Not long ago I was contacted to work on building a website for Tom Tatum. Tom is an author, TV & film producer/director, conservation advocate, scholar, husband, and father.

To say author Tom Tatum is an accomplished and interesting person would be a huge understatement. Beyond his scholarly achievements, Mr. Tatum has also worked with Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, the Carter/Mondale campaign, the Carter/Mondale transition team, and also worked within the Carter administration. If that weren’t enough, author Tom Tatum has also launched many businesses as can be seen in his resume.

It is an honor and a privilege to work with Tom Tatum. I look forward to many years of helping author Tom Tatum achieve further accomplishments as we move forward.

MidState Design provides services that fall under the category of ‘artistic expression’. In light of today’s unfortunate Supreme Court ruling regarding the right to deny services to gay couples, I thought it important to clarify the following.

MidState Design will never deny services based upon status as gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, queer, divorced, cohabiting, or any legal coupling. If you should decide to put your trust in my business, you will be provided the same quality services as anyone else.

]]>https://midstatedesign.com/articles/midstate-design-serving-clients-from-all-walks-of-life/feed/0Client News and Giveawayshttps://midstatedesign.com/client-news/client-news-and-giveaways/
https://midstatedesign.com/client-news/client-news-and-giveaways/#respondTue, 29 May 2018 02:42:51 +0000https://midstatedesign.com/?p=206370Client News and Giveaways: So many fantastic things going on with clients right now that it's almost impossible to keep up with! Here's a bit of what's happening. There's more news to come so stay tuned!

Enter to win one of two copies of ”Line of Glory” worth $25. The last thirteen hours at the Alamo began around 5 o’clock the afternoon of March 5, 1836. Colonel William Barrett Travis drew a line in the dirt with his sword and asked all those who would stay and fight to cross it. Hopes, fears and destinies played out that night for four people.

]]>https://midstatedesign.com/client-news/client-news-and-giveaways/feed/0IMPORTANT: GDPR Regulations and What They Mean To Youhttps://midstatedesign.com/articles/important-gdpr-regulations-and-what-they-mean-to-you/
https://midstatedesign.com/articles/important-gdpr-regulations-and-what-they-mean-to-you/#commentsSun, 20 May 2018 19:22:46 +0000https://midstatedesign.com/?p=206357What On Earth is "GDPR?"
The GDPR is a massive set of laws governed by the E.U.'s Information Commissioner's Office, overseas. It's also known as the "Cookie Law", though these regulations reach much deeper than website cookies.

You’ve probably noticed a ton of annoying banners on the websites you visit lately. Most, stating something to the effect of “Like Most Websites On The Internet, This Website Utilizes Cookies To Enhance Your Experience.” A message typically followed by an acceptance button of some sort.

It’s also likely that you are getting a lot of email regarding privacy updates from the websites you visit. (Aren’t those a treat?)

If you’re like most people, you are sick to death of all of this already. If so, I have very bad news for you. It’s about to get worse. Much worse. On top of that, the European Union’s GDPR wants you to deface your own website(s) with the same kind of annoyances. Sadly, I am not joking. Not even a little bit.

Please read on.

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What On Earth is GDPR, and What are Cookies?

You might have noticed conversations online about the new regulations issued by the European Union’s ICO called GDPR. The GDPR is a massive set of laws governed by the E.U.’s Information Commissioner’s Office, overseas. It’s also known as the “Cookie Law”, though these regulations reach much deeper than website cookies.

Elizabeth Denham heads up the ICO and is behind a lot of what you’re seeing today. She was appointed UK Information Commissioner in July 2016. Commissionar Denham has stated that she is frustrated by the amount of “Scaremongering” going on about GDPR, its affect on businesses, and people. She claims this is an “Evolution”, not a “Revolution”.

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A Bit About “Cookies”

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What The GDPR Is Intended To Do

The stated goal is to protect the personal data of E.U. citizen’s in an increasingly digital world. If you’re outside of the E.U., there are only responsibilities. You are afforded no rights due to the implementation of the GDPR. If anything, you’re losing rights.

What Can The E.U. Do About Those Who Do Not Comply?

Businesses who do not comply face hefty fines. Those fines can reach 20 million Euros ($23,535,500), or 4% of annual global revenue. Which ever is greater. Thankfully, while such fines are possible, that has not been the way they’ve been handed out to date. The ICO has stated that fines are used as a last resort after a website or organization refuses to comply after multiple warnings.

Does The GDPR Apply To The United States?

In many cases, yes. Though there are almost certainly going to be numerous legal issues that will have to be sorted out by the court system as this goes into effect, at this point it does appear to apply to the U.S. and its businesses. There is already some precedent to back this up.

That said, the main stated goal is to regulate and hold accountable businesses that knowingly, and actively, conduct business in the EU. It’s up to them to decide whether that applies to your website/business/organization, or not.

What If My “Website” Is On Blogger, Shopify, Wix, Weebly, or Another Provider Site?

You will still fall under EU GDPR regulations and will still have obligations to comply. In some cases, you may have even more obligations than someone with a regular website, since many third party companies fall under the guise of ‘actively, and knowingly selling to E.U. citizens.’

You should absolutely consult with documentation on those various websites to try and come to grips with the extent of your exposure to GDPR regulations.

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How-To Video for GDPR Compliance

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Points To Remember While Navigating Through This

The first thing to understand about GDPR compliance is that it’s not a destination. It’s a journey. Even in the unlikely event you achieve complete compliance, you will probably fall back out of compliance soon afterward. It’s a bit like trying to steer your car down the highway in a straight line. You are going to have to make course adjustments to stay on track.

The second thing to understand about GDPR compliance is that there are over 65 million websites currently online with various levels of sophistication and data harvesting abilities. The odds of you becoming a target of the ICO is akin to hitting it big in the lottery.

The third thing to understand about GDPR compliance is that the ICO has a far greater interest in enforcing compliance within the EU, and with massive companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, etc.. It would be next to impossible to go after every website that doesn’t fully comply with GDPR. Especially when the odds of being fully compliant are almost non-existent. It is important to keep any concerns you have about these regulations in perspective.

The fourth thing to understand about GDPR compliance is that it’s fluid. It is going to change over time. What we are dealing with today is apt to be very different 10 years from now. This is particularly true as other countries like the United States create their own regulations. With recent revelations about what many large companies have done, US regulatory changes are pretty much a given.

The fifth thing to understand about GDPR compliance is that any benefit you get from these regulations are going to be coincidental. You are not protected by anything the EU has done here. Only EU citizens are. Nice, huh?

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Steps To Take Towards GDPR Compliance

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: I am not an attorney, nor do I ever want to be one. I am a web designer. What you see below are only suggestions. The GDPR regulations are part of a massive legal document that goes on for approximately one hundred pages, containing thousands of words, each with potential legal implications that I am not well suited to advise you on from a legal perspective.

That said, I have spent many, many hours over the last couple of months reading up on GDPR and trying to understand it all, along with its implications. The problem with much of what I’ve read is that it tends to conflict, and always come with the same disclaimer you see above. “I am not a lawyer”. Then, they go on to act as though they have all of the answers. Frankly, I don’t believe even the ICO has all of the answers. There are many problems with the GDPR, and some of what they are demanding isn’t even available yet from a technology standpoint. This has left millions of businesses in the lurch. Anyone who tells you that all of this is simple is either flat out lying, or simply doesn’t know what they are talking about.

This is a cash cow to many, so understand that and be very skeptical of what you read and hear.

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GET STARTED NOW – The Law Takes Effect May 25th.

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Read and try to better understand what these regulations are and how they might apply to you.

There are plenty of other resources available online, but please keep in mind that they will not always agree with each other. Also keep in mind that much of what you’re going to see is purely opinion and not the ‘legal’ kind.

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Answering Questions You May Have

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Can the EU really fine someone who is in America?

Apparently so. If you find that hard to swallow, join the club. So do I. Remember… the odds of them doing so (fining you), are quite small. This is especially true if you live outside of the EU and don’t market directly to them.

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Are there any benefits or concerns about using WordPress with these new regulations coming into place?

WordPress just issued an update to address some of the GDPR concerns. The latest release includes a way for user data to be exported and handed over upon request. This is part of the GDPR. Of course exporting and handing over data also has potential ramifications, but I won’t address those here. There are other changes as well. I will likely be posting about these in an upcoming article. Again, this is all changing quickly as companies adjust to the new rules. Like 95% or more of the internet, WordPress does utilize cookies. That is one potential concern that can theoretically be alleviated with an annoying cookie banner and a privacy policy.

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Can MidState Design make my website GDPR compliant?

Unfortunately, no. I can assist to some extent, but there are things such as creating a custom, website specific privacy policy that are just not doable for a number of reasons. If you don’t want to deal with this yourself I would recommend hiring a company that is offering GDPR services. Once such company is WPFixIt. While I cannot vouch for their level of GDPR expertise, I can attest to them being pretty highly regarded among the WordPress community. At least that’s been my experience.

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Can you install something to block all EU citizens from my website?

Yes, I can do this. I cannot, however, state with certainty that this will be a good solution, nor one that will be 100% effective. This approach is essentially applying a bandage to a gaping wound. In the end the best thing you can do is work towards compliance, as the US is probably going to implement something similar to GDPR in the future anyway. That said, completely blocking the EU may provide you with more time to get everything into place.

It will also send a message.

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Can you install a cookie consent banner on my website?

Yes, I can do this for you, but it is only one part of this set of regulations. Simply having a cookie banner will help but it will not cover you completely. This law is too complex to simply install something and forget about it. At least right now it is.

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Should I consider getting a lawyer?

That is most likely extreme overkill, but only you can make that decision for yourself.

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Should I Just Take My Website(s), Amazon Pages, Blogger Accounts, Facebook Business Pages, ETC. Offline Completely?

Absolutely not. Not only would that be a huge overreaction, it would cause you to lose a lot of work and potential revenue after you’ve already invested time and money into those projects. You wouldn’t take your new car to the junkyard because some traffic laws were passed, would you? That’s basically what you’d be doing if you let this GDPR stuff make you pull your sites offline. You *would* cause a lot of people to chuckle, however. Don’t be that person. 😉

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Should I be scared? Because I am!

Yes. Though I totally understand why you would feel like this, take a deep breath and try not to worry too much. While all of this sounds pretty scary and far reaching it’s important to look at it all realistically. There is no way 65 million websites are going to get fined, or go offline. The ICO Commissioner has already stated that is not the intent of GDPR.

Though I am of the opinion that the EU has already way overreached here, I do believe they will adjust accordingly. I would expect that to happen in fairly short order. Then again, I didn’t think they’d have the gall to move forward with this in the first place. That said, take my instincts with a grain of salt.

More than anything the ICO is attempting to stop huge companies from gathering so much information on people without their consent. The recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal is a great example of what they are hoping to prevent in the future. If you do little to no data harvesting, you aren’t the target. That’s not to say you’re immune from this law, but you are only small fry to them.

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Will you be posting more about this as time goes on?

Yes, I hope to. To the extent I have time and feel comfortable with my level of knowledge on the subject.

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Why did you wait so long to post about this?

Because this is a very fluid situation that has been changing rapidly. I’ve been working on variations of this post for a couple of months now. Also, I wanted to get a firm grasp on what all of it means, as well as watch and see if the EU backed off.

They haven’t.

I also wanted to see if there was some way I could take the steps to bring all clients into compliance. Sadly, that is just not feasible as there is far too much involved.

Many companies are still releasing updates to address these regulations as I type this. WordPress, for instance, just put out a GDPR related update a few days ago, as did Woocommerce. Various other companies are still updating their privacy policies as well.

Very few organizations of any kind are going to be ‘compliant’ by May 25th. That includes those in the EU. Not even their own governments and agencies. (I’m not kidding). In fact, the very people who are supposed to enforce this said they weren’t ready as recently as May 8, 2018. Perhaps even worse is knowing that most member states haven’t even produced their own implementation acts.